


together

by hannahsviolets



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Family, Fiona Gallagher (mentioned) - Freeform, Friendship, Holly Herkimer - Freeform, Liam Gallagher (Mentioned), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-28
Updated: 2015-01-28
Packaged: 2018-03-09 10:20:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3246041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahsviolets/pseuds/hannahsviolets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>some bits about carl and debbie gallagher and the relationship they have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	together

Carl and Debbie sit on the couch and watch television for two hours every Saturday morning when they’re young. They can hear Frank and Monica fighting in the background but they ignore it. They can hear Ian and Lip and Fiona doing other things, talking about more adult things that they are too young to understand. According to Fiona, they are too young to understand most things. Maybe she’s right, but the both of them like to think that they’re a lot more grown up then they actuall are.

Debbie is thankful that there is a person younger then her in the family. She looks up to Fiona so much, she’s her hero. Fiona takes care of everyone and Debbie can’t take care of anyone – except Carl. She makes him lunch almost everyday. She does his laundry for him. She babies him.

The only time things aren’t this way is on Saturday mornings when they watch television. They’re equals then. Debbie doesn’t act as his mother, she acts as his sister. They laugh at stupid jokes and talk about how great it would be to have the toys shown on commercials.

Carl doesn’t tell her, but he likes having Debbie as a sister much more then having her as another mother.

* * *

 

Carl sees Debbie cry all the time. She cries at everything, even the littlest things. It’s something she’s done her whole life, so Carl doesn’t do much about it.

Debbie has never seen Carl cry. At least not since he was a baby. The first time ever is when she’s nine years old. Monica had gone on a particularly bad drug binge and passed out in the living room during Carl’s birthday party. All the kids there had made fun of her and Carl had gotten so angry that he even punched one boy in the face. Everyone left and called him a freak.

Fiona, Lip and Ian were downstairs cleaning up (trying not to step on Monca). Liam was asleep in his crib. Debbie was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to find an explanation as to why their life had to be like this.

Carl climbed into her bed with her before she’d even been thinking for five minutes. He didn’t say anything, he just laid down and closed his eyes. Debbie didn’t say anything either because she didn’t want Carl to think she was going to make fun of him or something. It’s only when she hears him crying softly that she does anything. She finds his hand and takes it in hers, squeezing it. Carl keeps crying, but the tears start to slow down after a few minutes of Debbie stroking his hand.

When they wake up the next morning, they’re still holding hands.

 

* * *

 

When Monica returns with her new girlfriend, Debbie and Carl can’t help but forgive her for leaving them in the first place. They both love Fiona more than anything, but they want their mother. Lip tells them that Fiona is their real mother, and they agree, but they also don’t want to admit the fact that they don’t have Monica anymore.

It’s times like these where Debbie and Carl stop bickering and stick together. They’re both extremely different people, but they both have the same emotions about certain things and their feelings about their parents are definitley the same. They always stay by each other. Walk to class together in silence. Eat lunch together in silence. Play video games together in silence. The only time they part is to sleep.

That particular time with Monica doesn’t last long and as soon as she leaves things are back to normal. They bicker again and do things by themselves. As great as it is to be back to normalcy, they both admit only to themselves that they miss having a partner.

 

* * *

 

One time, when Carl is over at Kev and Veronica’s house helping Kev clean the house for a couple dollars an hour, Kev tells him stories about his time in foster care. Kev tells all of the stories in a comedic tone, no matter how dark they actually are. Carl laughs at most of them and talks about how cool they are to him, but there’s one story in particular that upsets him.

Kev talks about how when you’re in dangerous situations, the first thing you really have to do is protect the women in your life. He doesn’t tell him why, he just says that it’s the thing to do. The rest of the story is about how one time a foster dad came after him and his foster sister with a hot iron and Kev had to take it to protect her. This whole thing doesn’t sit well with Carl because it makes him think about all the times that he’s seen Debbie and Fiona be threatened or hurt and he starts to feel like an asshole for never doing anything before.

So the following day when he and Debbie are at the park with Liam and some bigger kid demands money from Debbie, Carl steps in front of her and gives him some of the cash he’d picked up from Kev. The guy thinks him and then tells Debbie when she gets a bit older he’ll take her virginity. Carl punches him in the stomach and then knocks him on his back when he falls.

He runs away from them at top speed.

When he’s gone, Debbie raises her eyebrows, “Why did you do that?”

“I’m your brother. I’m supposed to protect you,”

Debbie looked happy for a moment, but it went away quickly because she shoved past him and gave him a dirty look. “Freak,”

It didn’t bother Carl too much. It actually made him feel like he had somewhat of a purpose for once.

 

* * *

 

They sit in Debbie’s room with the door locked the night Frank gets checked in to the hospital, both of them leaning up against the wall saying nothing for a few minutes. Debbie speaks first. “I love daddy. I don’t want him to die.”

“You think I do?”

“I didn’t say that, did I?”

Carl shrugged. He needed someone to be pissed at and Debbie was the easiest person to be angry with.

Debbie looks at him with tears in her eyes. “Is he going to die, Carl?” She’s all choked up and says the words in such a whisper that they would be a bit hard to hear if Carl wasn’t right next to her.

“. . . I don’t know. I mean, Fiona won’t give us a real answer. And when she does that it means things are shit.”

“So yes?”

“I guess.”

Debbie starts crying then. She pulls her knees up to her chest and buries her face so that he won’t see. For the first time in years, Carl feels an urge to comfort her. He hesitantly puts a hand on her back. He doesn’t know what to say to make it better because he wouldn’t believe he’d have to say himself. Carl tries though. “If it does, um, happen, we’ll still have Fiona. And Lip. They’ll take care of us.”

She lifts her head. “They take care of us now.”  

He hadn’t really considered that part of it. “Alright. Sorry.”

“For what?”

“Frank. Not having parents. Being on our own.”

She paused and then said, “I’m sorry too.”

“Life sucks.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,”

 

* * *

 

When Debbie finally gets friends, Carl is alone. Little Hank got sent to juvy a couple months back, so it’s really just him. He’d never been good at making friends and up until recently, never had Debbie. They’d always been each other’s unspoken best friend.

Sometimes if Debbie is in a good enough mood, she’ll talk to him like she did before she decided to hate everyone. Ninety percent of the time, it’s only so that she can complain about her relationship with Matty. Sometimes Carl will say nothing, just nod at let her vent. Other times, he’ll comment that she needs to chill or make a joke about the age difference that pisses her off. He really can’t believe that his sister is in love.

Carl is the only person that Debbie really feels she can talk to about Matty without judgement. Holly and Ellie always make comments about how she should just fuck him already and get it over with. Fiona would just judge her and try and give her advice that she doesn’t want or need. Carl never does any of that. He just listens and makes the occasional sarcastic comment that she can only expect from him.

 

* * *

 

It’s only about six months later when Carl is the one spending all of his time with Holly instead of Debbie. Only, it’s probably a lot different then the time she spent with Debbie. In public, she acts like she can’t stand him – if you ignore her face being constantly attached to his. 

In private, it’s a different thing. There’s still a lot of making out (and other things) but Holly seems to genuinely like Carl. She smiles a lot and asks him questions about his life. Sometimes when he comes over, they’ll even sit and watch TV for a little while. He thinks she might actually have a crush on him, which he would’ve never expected in a million years. He likes her a lot too. The only thing he doesn’t like is the way she treats Debbie.

One afternoon, they’re lying side by side on her bed. She’s just orgasmed and is breathing heavily, rubbing a hand through his hair and smiling brightly at him. Because she’s in such a good mood today, Carl decides this would be a good time to talk about Debbie.

“Hey uh, so Holly?”

“Mmmhmm,”

“So, uh, I was thinking. Maybe you could be friends with my sister again,”

She stops stroking his hair and sighs loudly, “Why?”

Carl pauses. He doesn’t want to say ‘because it’ll make her happy’ because that’ll sound like Debbie is desperate to have a friend back. So instead, he says “Because she’s a good person.”

“I know that. That’s not a reason to be friends with someone.”

“I guess not. But you know, I just think that uh, it’ll be easier for us if you guys hang out again. You could come over to my house, things wouldn’t be awkward.”

Holly laughs, “If you’re eating me out in the next room that’d be pretty awkward.”

Carl rolls his eyes and sits up. She’s just not getting the point. “Come on. Just . . . it’ll make me happy. Could you just be friends with her again? For me?”

He knows that’ll make her give in. Holly sighs loudly again and bites her lip before saying “Fine. But only for you.”

He doesn’t care why she does it or how. As long as it makes Debbie happy in the end. Looking out for Debbie is something he’s tried to do his whole life. Unbeknownst to him, she’d always been trying to do the same.

 

* * *

 

Debbie and Carl are at the pool with Liam one day when an older boy marches up to them and says, “You Carl Gallagher?”

“Who’s asking?”

Debbie holds her arm in front of Carl’s chest. She’s pretty sure she knows where this is going. A fight.

The guy takes Carl’s answer as a yes and slams his fist into Carl’s jaw. “That’s for my girlfriend, you prick!”

Before Carl can even hit him back, Debbie whispers “Don’t fucking touch him,” and slams her knee into his nuts and pushes him into the pool.

She helps Carl stand up and touches the blood on his chin with her finger. “Jesus. Are you okay?”

“Fine. You didn’t have to do that.”

“No one’s allowed to punch you except me. Even if you deserved it.”

“How do you know I deserved it?”

“I’m guessing it had something to do with your service.”

Carl smirks and then he starts laughing, despite the pain. He throws an arm around Debbie and she wraps an arm around him and they walk away from the prick lying in the pool together. Like they do everything.


End file.
